Chapter 428: Disappearance, Association Commission

"Sanzu Haigou," as one of the most popular taverns in the entire Shoal Bay, gathered a large number of adventurers all year round.

And because of the extremely high mobility of adventurers themselves, it had become an important place for intelligence gathering.

Not only the Southern Archipelago, but major events occurring in several nearby provinces would also often gather here after a certain period of circulation.

And for Shoal Bay where it was located, all kinds of intelligence, big or small, were even more well-informed.

To put it bluntly, if the Governor's wife lost a cat in the morning, it was estimated that by the afternoon, there would already be adventurers in the tavern stroking the cat's head and discussing how much reward they wanted.

Hela, as the boss of the Sanzu Haigou tavern, had paid special attention to developing her own intelligence channels over the years, bringing the convenience of such a crowded place as a tavern into full play.

With such a big movement in the town right now, she naturally couldn't have not noticed.

Therefore, when Xia Nan asked her about his discovery on Cable Street, Hela didn't have the slightest look of surprise on her face.

Nor did she ask the two people in front of the counter for any intelligence fees; she placed the glass cup she had just taken from the cabinet onto the front desk and took a wine bottle that looked plain on the outside and only had a label pasted on the surface from the wine cabinet behind her.

Pulling out the bottle stopper, she poured wine.

"Clatter..."

As if sunlight penetrated the shallow sea, the clear, pale green wine liquid collided with the cup wall, splashing snow-white wine foam.

A layer of cool and refreshing wine fragrance gradually rose in the air.

Pushing the glass cup filled with wine to the two people in front of her, Hela's eyebrows raised slightly.

"A Baron."

She answered like this.

"To be precise, it's this Baron's daughter, who might have been attacked yesterday, or encountered some other special situation."

"Currently, her whereabouts are unknown, and the Governor's Mansion is helping to search; I have also received a relevant intelligence gathering mission here, and it is estimated that the Adventurer Association will soon have a commission on the shelves."

"A Baron's daughter? In Shoal Bay?" Xia Nan shook the wine glass in his hand, his pitch-black eyes reflecting the swaying clear wine.

Although in the noble hierarchy of the Servia Kingdom, "Baron" was almost at the bottom of the pyramid, for the vast majority of ordinary civilians living on this continent, this was still a big shot who was incomparably noble, a "noble lord" whom they didn't even have the qualification to kiss the boots of.

If the environment were placed in a desolate wilderness without a soul, there might still be desperate people willing to take risks for wealth.

But in the current Shoal Bay...

The few batches of guards from the Governor's Mansion he saw on the way back were enough to prove the stupidity of such actions.

But on the other hand, a Baron without a territory, in this important port city in the south of the Kingdom, an adventure hub with an Association branch, actually really didn't count for anything.

After all, in the vast majority of cases, if one could possess a territory of one's own, with the current level of transportation development and information dissemination speed, it meant that you became the "local emperor" in your own territory.

Except for conditions being a bit worse in all aspects, the power one could enjoy in the territory was almost no different from the King.

But like this kind of Baron who only had a title but no actual fief, placed in a big city like Shoal Bay, without the income brought by land, one could only support oneself by holding official positions with one's noble status, or by cooperating with some businessmen.

To some extent, their income was not as high as those wealthy merchants, and they would even occasionally fall into a quite embarrassed situation because of maintaining decency and being in debt.

It didn't count as any big shot.

Of course, if it were really the Governor's daughter who went missing, I am afraid the entire Saltwater District would have been blocked by now, and high-level professionals would be flying around in the sky to patrol.

It wouldn't be like now, just sending some guards to question passersby.

"What is the specific situation? Was she snatched by an attacker?"

Xia Nan raised his wine glass and took a light sip.

The alcohol content of "Sea Siren's Tears" was not high, and the taste when drinking it was more like some kind of low-alcohol fruit wine.

The taste was refreshing, the wine liquid carried a clear fruity fragrance, and after swallowing, the tip of the tongue brought out a sweet aftertaste.

With Xia Nan's current physical fitness, there was no possibility of getting drunk on this degree of wine.

In fact, the current him was exactly treating this kind of fruit wine as a drink.

"Who knows?" Hela shrugged, her expression not how serious, obviously for her, the disappearance of a Baron's daughter was not a big deal.

"I haven't received any news about kidnappers asking for ransom here, and the Governor's Mansion hasn't made any progress all morning."

"It's not necessarily kidnapping; that Baron's daughter might have eloped with her sweetheart, as such things haven't happened before."

Xia Nan nodded slightly, secretly remembering this intelligence.

His mind couldn't help but recall the few little thugs he met in the Salmon Roe grocery store.

Should... not be, right?

Although the more he thought about it, the more he felt the other party's performance was suspicious, but based on the cowardly appearance he observed, those few little thugs usually only did some dirty things like stealing chickens and dogs, obviously not the kind of ferocious criminals who dared to actively attack nobles.

Raising his wine glass to take another sip, Xia Nan turned his head, wanting to ask the Halfling beside him for his opinion.

Looking over, the little guy was as usual, holding the wine glass with both hands, adjusting the angle, as if he hadn't paid attention to the idle chat between Xia Nan and Hela at all, and was focusing entirely on studying the refraction of sunlight through the glass cup in the crystal-clear wine liquid.

Forget it...

Xia Nan withdrew his gaze, just about to ask Hela about the progress of the channel she introduced for him to participate in the "Moon Tide Feast."

The tavern door behind him was pushed open violently.

Subconsciously turning his head to look, what came into view was a familiar tall figure.

Wearing the uniform of the Adventurer Association staff, a middle-aged woman with reddish-brown hair coiled behind her head.

As if she had run all the way from the Association to here, her hair was stuck to her cheeks by sweat, panting, and her grey-blue eyes, like sea mist, swept across the tavern hall, as if she were looking for something.

Her gaze met Xia Nan who was sitting in front of the bar.

One could see the woman's eyes pause suddenly, panting, squeezing a smile on her face, and walking toward Xia Nan's direction.

"Maer?"

Feeling surprised in his heart, Xia Nan greeted the woman walking toward him.

This woman named "Maer," who was an Association staff member, was precisely the front desk who received him when he first came to the Shoal Bay Adventurer Association.

Because her performance was too enthusiastic and thoughtful, Xia Nan also had a few cooperations with the other party later; 【Blade of the Blue Wave】 was consigned through her, and to some extent, she could be considered his dedicated receptionist in Shoal Bay.

Right now, she came to the Sanzu Haigou tavern to find him in person, and it was estimated that there were only those two things.

1. That mysterious buyer of 【Tide-Inducing Lure】 finally returned to Shoal Bay, and she came to notify him to conduct the transaction;

2. The 【Training Staff】 he consigned in the Adventurer Association had an offer, but he needed to go over and discuss it face-to-face.

And just as Xia Nan guessed, Maer came to the tavern specifically for the equipment he consigned in the Association.

"I'm really sorry to disturb you, Mr. Xia Nan." ===== CHAPTER 429 =====